"Maybe you just need a good distraction, then," Bryce mused, brain ticking over the others words, "To take your mind off of that feeling. Do something that will make you feel young with someone you wouldn't mind hanging around with for a while. Maybe one of your friends next time they're free to see you."
“Maybe.” Cyprus sounded doubtful. “I don’t really know what makes me feel young these days, I haven’t exactly been living it up.” His life, for the most part, was quiet and self-contained. He stayed home, sketched, cleaned, maybe went out for a hike at night. “Most of my friends are kind of booked anyways, but… I don’t think I’d mind hanging around you.” He glanced over at Bryce, trying not to be too transparent. “And you certainly have a handle on… I don’t know… reveling in your eternal youth?”
Bryce shrugged a shoulder, the grin turning into something more soft, gentle even, "Blame it on the recklessness of being young and being abandoned by my sire, since I'm not gonna kill anyone in protest, why not just get stupidly drunk? Well, as much as possible. Besides, you can't really do much else at night as most places are closed."
Cyprus stared at him for a little too long before he ducked his head, laughing quietly. “Yeah, the night life here is a bit lacking. And you can only go to the same bar so many times before you start wanting to tear your hair out.” Even though he loved Haven, he could only visit every so often without feeling like shit. “But hey, maybe we can find something a little more interesting to do if we put our heads together."
The young vamp couldn't help but feel slightly insecure under the others gaze however the feeling was gone once he looked away, "That depends on how badly you want to spend a night with me." Bryce replied, letting out a soft chuckle, "Maybe we could find some part of town that is actually interesting and new to the both of us. Maybe we could find a secret hide out."
Cyprus flushed a bit, looking away. "Well as fun as it is to have you over, I wouldn't want to pressure you into anything." He wanted to. Bryce was charming and sweet and Cyprus couldn't help but be drawn in. He wanted to spend more time with him, maybe even become friends. "A secret hide out might be fun, though. I haven't really been south of the river, maybe we can try looking down there to start off?"
Bryce couldn't help but smile when he saw the other flush a little. It was cute, and the fact that Bryce hadn't even said anything that could make that happen in his mind, he was slightly glad it had happened, "I haven't been that way for a while. In fact I think I might have only been there once. Seems like a good place to start." He wanted to spend time with Cyprus. He didn't know why, he had only really just met the guy and usually he didn't spend too much time with thin-bloods, let alone people over twice his age. But.. he didn't mind the thought.
Cyprus' smile was small but bright as he glanced up at Bryce. "Alright. Why don't you meet me down at the river walk this Friday?" Part of him wanted to schedule it a little sooner, but he'd need time to prepare. It had been a long time since he'd actually gone out with a friend, he barely remembered how to do it anymore. "We can take one of those night tours down to the south side, it'll be fun."
He nodded, his smile growing a fraction, "Sounds like a date, I'll meet you there then." It would make a change to not go out partying and drinking all night, to go out with a friend and do something simple, like the walk. Maybe it would be a good change. Bryce could tell that it probably was a very good change if the butterflies in his stomach had anything to say about it.
Cyprus mirrored his smile, small and cautious but also excited. "I'll look forward to it." He bumped his shoulder against Bryce's again, companionable, and then pushed himself up off the couch so he could grab the sketches for Bryce before he forgot. It was starting to get late—around midday—so he closed the windows in the guest room before he wandered back in. "For now, let's get you settled in. I bet you're kind of dead on your feet by now, yeah?"
Bryce gave him a tired smile. He'd been trying to push away his exhaustion from a night out and by now he felt like he was about to fall asleep where he was sitting, "Was it obvious?" He rubbed at his face with one hand, standing from the couch with a quiet yawn. Sleep sounded fantastic, a good night of sleep as well. He hadn't realised how little sleep he had gotten and how late in the day it was.
Cyprus laughed quietly, looking him up and down with a small smile. It was still a bit surreal, having a full blood in his house, but he was surprisingly unbothered beyond that feeling. "Just a little bit. Your room's just down the hall, first door on your left." Hesettled on the couch again, grabbed the remote so he could flick through TV channels. "D'you want me to wake you up when the sun goes down? Or should I just let you sleep?"
He rubbed at the back of his neck with a small shrug, "Ah- just let me sleep.. if, that's okay with you, I wouldn't want to intrude." He already felt like he was overstepping, at least a little, by staying until sundown. Staying even longer felt like a stretch. It didn't help the fact that Cyprus was a thin-blood, and even though they had made plans to hang out soon, he was still a little cautious about what he did and did not do.
Cyprus nodded, taking a few seconds to find a good answer. "You're not intruding," he started, because that was the easy part. It was weird, sure. Weird to have someone else here, weird that that person was a full blood, but not weird in a way that made him anxious. "It's nice to have someone else in the house, and… well… we're friends now, right? Friends help each other out all the time. It's no big deal."
(Just so you know, I'm going out of town tomorrow to visit family so I'm going to head to bed early for the night. I'll be off until Monday afternoon. Hope you have a good night/weekend!)
(its all good, I took a small break for my birthday/going through a breakup, anyway)
Bryce couldn't help but smile softly, tiredly. He suppressed yet again another yawn before he replied, "Yeah, I suppose we are friends now. Thank you again, for helping me and letting me stay. I'll talk to you in the evening. Goodnight." He gave a small nod to Cyprus, the smile still present before he turned and headed to the room where Cyprus had indicated towards.
(Well happy birthday and I hope things get better for you soon!!)
Cyprus smiled back at him, settling against the couch cushions. "I'm looking forward to it already, Bryce. Sleep well, I'll probably be hanging around in here when you wake up." He glanced over at Bryce out of the corner of his eye for a few minutes, keen on making sure he managed to find his room, but his attention slid away after that and he found himself more occupied with the stupid dating show he'd found than anything else.
(Thank you :) )
Bryce slept peacefully throughout the whole day. He didn't wake once as the day dragged on and the sun started to slip over the horizon. It might as well been one of the best sleeps he'd had in a while. But maybe that was the alcohol in his body. Not that he cared, he was just glad to have slept. It was just when the moon was starting to rise fairly high over the horizon did he wake up. Maybe around eight o'clock, he didn't know. The full blood climbed out of bed, yawning and rubbing his eyes as he left the bedroom.
Cyprus was on and off as the day dragged on. He napped for a few hours, took a hike, wandered into the city proper so he could grab some groceries, and swung back home fast enough to sketch the sunset since he'd missed the rise. He was still sketching idly when Bryce wandered in, capturing the faces of the actors who flashed across the TV. It took him a while to even notice Bryce was up, too absorbed in his drawing.
Bryce watched Cyprus for a moment, a gentle smile on his face as he watched the pencil move gracefully across the paper. It was something he couldn't do himself and well, admired, "Good morning," He said quietly. He knew he could talk louder, however he didn't want to scare Cyprus and ruin the nice drawing, "Or well, good evening, I suppose." He corrected, moving to sit next to the other vamp.
Cyprus tensed for a second, turning around quickly with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes until he recognized Bryce and his whole body relaxed. He was quick to make room on the couch, curling up against the arm and letting the sketchbook fall shut with a quiet thump. "Night, I would say. Don't think you can call it evening when the moon is out." His voice was quiet but playful.
Bryce's eyes widened a little and he blinked, letting out a soft chuckle as he moved to sit on the spare part of space on the couch, "Oh wow, sorry I- I didn't expect to sleep so late." Originally, when he had woke, he thought it was only around eight o'clock. Apparently he had been mistaken, "Have you been here drawing all day or did you actually move off the couch at some point?"
Cyprus laughed quietly, running a hand through his hair. He still looked a bit windswept from the hike. There was dirt under his nails, a couple scratches on his palms from where he'd tripped and caught himself. "No, I ran a couple errands. Took a walk in the woods. I just figured you'd want to know where I was when you woke up, so I plopped down a few hours ago and just… settled in, I guess."
He shrugged, "If you had gone out I swear I wouldn't have snooped through your stuff, I'm not that low." Bryce envied Cyprus for being able to go out, to walk in the sun and not be trapped under the veil of moonlight he had to live in. It was one of the things he despised about thin-bloods, "Anyway, cool drawing, who are they?" He asked, quickly changing the subject as to not dwell on his own thoughts for too long.
"Oh, that's… that's not really something I'm worried about. I know you wouldn't snoop." He softened a few of the lines, darkening eyes and hair until he was satisfied with the drawing. "And I don't really know who they are, I just wanted to do something with my hands while I watched TV, so… y'know, doodling actors. That's what I normally do while I'm waiting around."
"Well I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long, I didn't intend to sleep for so long." Bryce brought one of his knees to his chest, watching the other draw with a curious, interested expression, "But still, it's a very good drawing. Did you manage to capture the sunset tonight?" After all their talk earlier, he had no doubt that the other had captured the sun descending over the horizon.
Cyprus smiled, flipping back a few pages and then turning to Bryce to show off the picture he'd drawn. It was massive, dominating the page, but it wasn't the only thing there by any means. There were smaller drawings in the margins, an eyes here, half a smile there, just small bits of what he could draw from memory. "Of course I did. I tried out some charcoals so I could get a little more detail for you, just in case this is the one you want to use."
(Heyy so I'm kinda back? Will be a bit spotty for a few more weeks because school but then I should be more active :))
The young vampire couldn't help but smile at the image. Re-imagining it in the golds, blues and pinks he'd use when he got back home, "It's perfect. Thank you." He'd try his best to do the drawing justice in his painting. He just hoped he could really capture the moment with watercolour, "Have you ever thought about selling your drawings?"
(Dude!!! It's great to see u again!)
Cyprus couldn't help but be proud of the reaction he'd gotten, a small smile on his own face as he smoothed down the page. The question had him flushing, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear. "As flattered as I am that you think someone would buy them, I haven't. They feel… too personal, I guess. I couldn't just sell them off to some stranger."
(It's nice to see you too!)
"Yeah, that's understandable," Bryce replied, eyes still trained on the picture, "But if you wanted, I'm sure you could create a line specifically for selling. They're fantastic, honestly. Loads of people would buy them, I'm sure of it."